


Ministry v. Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier

by kitsunerei88



Series: Revolutionary Arc Plus Extras [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Series - murkybluematter
Genre: Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Gen, Lawyers Writing Law, Rigelverse, The Pureblood Pretense, The Rigel Black Chronicles, The Rigel Black Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunerei88/pseuds/kitsunerei88
Summary: Summary: PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL. A Memorandum of Law regarding the Ministry v. Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier for Blood Identity Theft, by Penelope Clearwater, Junior Prosecutor. (Chapter 8, Vanguard.)
Series: Revolutionary Arc Plus Extras [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722145
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19
Collections: Rigel Black Chronicles Appreciation





	Ministry v. Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier

**MEMORANDUM OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

**DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE**

**TO: The Minister of Justice**

**FROM: Penelope Clearwater, Junior Prosecutor**

**DATE: September 6, 1995**

**RE:** _**Ministry vs. Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier** _

_**Proposed Charge: Blood Identity Theft** _

* * *

You have asked me to prepare a legal analysis and recommendation regarding the case of Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier (hereinafter, "Blake Rosier"), now a known halfblood, on the charge of blood identity theft pursuant to his graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (hereinafter, "Hogwarts"). Included in your instructions, you have requested that I address the following questions:

  1. Whether a charge against Blake Rosier for blood identity theft is likely to be successful;
  2. Whether it is possible that Blake Rosier may be able to summon Justice for his own trial, and if so, the possible results; and,
  3. Whether the Ministry should proceed with the proposed charge.



You have advised me that you are not interested in pursuing legal action against either Lord or Lady Rosier. Accordingly, I will not be addressing the matter of any charges against either Lord or Lady Rosier for their involvement.

**SHORT ANSWER**

  1. It does not appear that a charge against Blake Rosier for blood identity theft can be sustained. Although the _actus reus_ can be easily substantiated, there is insufficient evidence to show that Blake Rosier had the required _mens rea_ for the offence.
  2. Blake Rosier has the right to summon Justice to preside his own trial. Although it is unknown whether Blake Rosier _himself_ may summon Justice to preside over his own trial, it does not appear that doing so would have any real impact on Blake Rosier's ability to defend his case. Further, strong incentives exist for another Truth-Speaker to identify themselves for a second trial on blood identity theft.
  3. The Ministry should not proceed with the proposed charge. The risks of proceeding, politically and legally, far outweigh any potential benefits of the charge, especially seeing as the charge is unlikely to succeed.



**FACTS**

Blake Rosier was born on or about May 24, 1977. He was registered at birth in Wizarding Britain as Aldon Étienne Rosier, the son of Lord Evan Titus Rosier and Lady Eveline Grace Rosier, née Avery. As the Heir to a Book of Copper noble family, Blake Rosier received the standard education of most noble children: Wizarding History, Etiquette, Literature, Arithmetic, and Basic Spellcasting. He developed close childhood connections with several other noble and high-ranking families, particularly Edmund Rookwood, Alesana Selwyn, and Pandora Parkinson.

At eleven years of age, Blake Rosier entered Hogwarts, where he was sorted into Slytherin House and saw moderate, but unremarkable, success. Academically, his strengths were Charms, Magical Theory, Ancient Runes, Ward Construction and Curse-breaking, though his marks were generally above average. He was known to be academically inclined and theoretical, and he harboured hopes of completing a Mastery in Magical Theory. He continued his close relationships with Rookwood, Selwyn, and Parkinson, and he developed relationships with Rigel Black, now known to be Harriett Potter in disguise, Draco Malfoy, Lucian Bole, Adrian Pucey, and others.

In his seventh year, Blake Rosier was selected for the Hogwarts Triwizard Team, where he acted as the strategist for Rigel Black. Although Blake Rosier was the first to identify Harriett by name when she was revealed, Harriett's known physical identifiers, being the Potter attributes and bright green eyes, as well as her close relationship to the true Arcturus Rigel Black, are well known among Wizarding Society; her identity was not difficult to deduce.

Blake Rosier graduated Hogwarts in June 1995 with impressive marks in Curse-breaking and Ward Construction, also completing NEWTs in Charms, Transfigurations, Ancient Runes and Potions. Until the trial, it was believed that he would be taking the summer off before joining his father at the Rosier Investment Trust.

However, on July 10, 1995 at the Arcturus Rigel Black trial (hereinafter, "the Black Trial"), Blake Rosier revealed himself to be a Truth-Speaker, a wizard capable of identifying lies spoken close to him and of summoning the Incarnation of Justice. Although it is clear that Blake Rosier was aware of his gift prior to the trial, it is not known when he became aware of his abilities.

On the request of the defence, Blake Rosier summoned Justice to hear the trial, and as a result, he was possessed. It was revealed under possession, that Blake Rosier's biological parents were the Lord Rosier and Christina Stephanie Blake, a Muggleborn witch who, until recently, worked at the Rosier Investment Trust as the Director of the New Developments Division.

It is evident that Lord and Lady Rosier engineered an elaborate cover-up of the circumstances of Blake Rosier's birth. The archives of the _Daily Prophet_ state that Lady Rosier was severely ill throughout her supposed pregnancy and was not seen in public, and Lord Rosier on several occasions expressed his deep concern for the health of his wife. There is no record of Miss Blake in Wizarding Britain throughout the pregnancy, and the nature of her relationship with Lord Rosier remains unknown. However, it is sufficient for the purposes of this memorandum to conclude that, once Blake Rosier was born, Miss Blake was somehow convinced to give up the child to his biological father, and the Lord and Lady Rosier raised Blake Rosier as if he were their legitimate child.

Subsequent to the Black Trial, the Department of Justice issued a surveillance warrant for Blake Rosier, on the basis that he, as a legal halfblood who recently graduated from Hogwarts, may be a rallying point for resistance against the Ministry.

Presently, based on the reports of said surveillance, Blake Rosier has been disowned by the Rosiers and is using the name Aldon Étienne Blake. He resides in Muggle London with Miss Blake, his biological mother, who has left the Rosier Investment Trust in favour of beginning her own firm, Blake & Associates. Blake & Associates continues to have its offices in Diagon Alley.

It appears that Blake Rosier has presently abandoned his magical heritage. He has shorn his hair into a fashionable hairstyle among Muggles and has adopted Muggle dress. He has only been seen once in Diagon Alley since the Black Trial and has never attended at either the Rosier Investment Trust or at the Blake & Associates office. Instead, it appears that Blake Rosier has obtained employment in Muggle London, and he takes Muggle transportation both to and from his place of work. Given Blake Rosier's lack of Muggle credentials, but his professional dress and manners, surveillance reports speculate that he has obtained Muggle employment as an administrative assistant, receptionist, or office clerk. Repeated scans of the area show no signs of magic either in or around his office building.

It is not known whether Blake Rosier is contact with any of his former associates. While Rookwood and Selwyn have been away on an extended Grand Tour of the world since before the Black Trial, Blake Rosier does not appear to have met with any of his other friends or acquaintances since the end of the Black Trial. He appears to have developed some connection with the Blacks, as he continues to visit the Grimmauld Place frequently, but otherwise he remains largely in the Muggle world.

**THE LAW**

_Blood Identity Theft: Section 434 of the Criminal Code_

Section 434 of the Criminal Code states:

> _434\. Any halfblood or Muggleborn who presents himself or herself as a pureblood with the intent of receiving a direct benefit as a result of pureblood status is guilty of an offence punishable by no less than two years in Azkaban prison._

Pursuant to section 430 of the Criminal Code, a pureblood includes a person who has four magic-using grandparents, a Muggleborn includes a witch or wizard whose parents and grandparents are unable to use magic, and a halfblood includes any witch or wizard who is not either a pureblood or a Muggleborn.

Previous cases have established that the _mens rea_ for the offence is the knowledge that one is a halfblood or Muggleborn and that one is receiving a benefit that one shouldn't, and the _actus reus_ is the receipt of the direct benefit itself. The halfblood or Muggleborn need not directly present themselves as a pureblood, and must only fail to correct an assumption made that they are a pureblood with the intent of receiving the benefit to which they are not entitled ( _Ministry v. Duff,_ 1991 Wiz 5499). Both the _mens rea_ and the _actus reus_ are required for a criminal conviction.

The standard of proof, as in all criminal cases, is beyond a reasonable doubt.

_Summoning Justice_

Nothing in the current Criminal Code addresses the right to trial by Justice. However, the right to trial by Justice is a preserved noble right confirmed in the _Charter of Noble Rights_ of 1071 and reaffirmed in the years 1241, 1357 and 1449. The last recorded invocation of Justice, prior to the Black Trial, took place in 1586 for the crime of high treason.

Based on a review of the case law, trial by Justice is available only to nobles and to _blood nobles_ , defined as persons directly descended from the nobility without nobility themselves. Most commonly, blood nobles are noble bastards.

There are no cases in which the Truth-Speaker invoking Justice is also the accused. That said, given the dearth of cases, it is not known whether a noble or blood noble Truth-Speaker charged with an offence may invoke Justice, or if a different Truth-Speaker need be found.

However, practically speaking, the primary difficulties of a Truth-Speaker summoning Justice to preside over their own trial are two-fold: first, the Truth-Speaker is possessed and is unable to testify in their own defense. Second, on sentencing, it is not clear how Justice may enact the sentence on the body that it is itself possessing. Neither of these objections appear to be insurmountable.

The right to silence is well-established in the common law. The onus is on the prosecution to prove all elements of the offence, and no accused need testify in their own defense. Further, no adverse inference may be made based on an accused's decision not to testify in their own defense. Although a Truth-Speaker may be unable to testify in their own defence in a trial wherein they are also the invoker of Justice, this may well be a minor consequence. Further, it is not clear what Justice is capable of doing, but Justice is eternal while each Truth-Speaker is ephemeral—It is possible that Justice may well be able to conduct the full range of sentences even from within the accused's body.

**ANALYSIS**

_A Charge of Blood Identity Theft Against Blake Rosier is Unlikely to Succeed_

It does not appear that a charge of blood identity theft against Blake Rosier would be successful. Notably, while Blake Rosier clearly fulfills the _actus reus_ of the offence, being that he has received a Hogwarts education while being a halfblood, it is not clear whether Blake Rosier ever met the _mens rea_ required for the offence.

As a Truth-Speaker, Blake Rosier's gift must have awakened at some point before he was thirteen years of age. However, it is unclear when, precisely, he began to be able to detect others' lies, or what he was able to deduce. He was known to be insightful, but there was never any indication that he knew or suspected the truth of his origins. It is reasonable to conclude, given his intense interest in magical theory, that he may have suspected that he was not a pureblood, but there is no conclusive evidence of what he knew or did not know.

Further, Archibald's Theory of Increasing Organization states that magical wildness disappears after four generations of magic-users, whereas the Wizarding British definition of "pureblood" requires only two complete generations of magic-users. Therefore, although Blake Rosier likely knew that he was a bastard and that his lineage was not as pure has he had previously believed, it is not evident that he knew he was a legal halfblood.

There is no evidence that Blake Rosier was aware of the precise identity of his birth parents, or that he was a legal halfblood by the Wizarding British definition until the Black Trial. Without being able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Blake Rosier knew that he did not have four magic-using grandparents, it would be difficult to sustain a charge of blood identity theft against him.

_Whether Blake Rosier May Summon Justice_

As a blood noble, Blake Rosier continues to enjoy a wide variety of noble rights. Particularly, he has the absolute right to silence, and he has the right to invoke Justice for his own trial. Veritaserum cannot be used against him without his express consent, and therefore he cannot be forced to reveal when he learned of his blood status as part of an investigation.

It is unknown whether Blake Rosier may summon Justice to preside over his own trial. However, should he do so, it appears that his only sacrifice for doing so would be an inability to testify in his own defense. No adverse inference may be made by his refusal to do so, and in this case, forcing him to call on Justice in his own defense will, politically speaking, only engender sympathy and provide an explanation for his failure to do so. Blake Rosier will be unable to testify in his own defense not because of his own choice not to do so, but because he is the only known Truth-Speaker who can give himself up to be possessed for his trial.

I draw attention to two further factors which mitigate against providing the opportunity for Blake Rosier to summon Justice for the purposes of his own trial.

First, based on the _obiter_ in Justice's decision, it is clear that, if summoned and presented with a case in which a person is charged with blood identity theft, Justice will strike the blood identity theft law entirely. The Ministry's success on the Black Trial was based entirely on _locus standi_ ; as a halfblood and blood noble, Blake Rosier is in _locus standi_ to bring a challenge to the blood identity theft law.

Second, Justice's final comment in the Arcturus Rigel Black trial was that she wanted one of her _female_ Truth-Speakers, next time. The implication is that there are, in fact, other Truth-Speakers. There is no guarantee that Blake Rosier will not locate a second Truth-Speaker to summon Justice in his defense; rather, given the _obiter_ of the Black decision and the fact that Truth-Speakers will be nearly all halfbloods or new purebloods with parents who may be halfbloods, there is a strong incentive for another Truth-Speaker to step forward and volunteer for the duty with the express intent of having the law struck.

_Whether the Ministry Should Proceed with a Charge_

Blake Rosier occupies a very different position than either Arcturus Rigel Black or Harriett Euphemia Potter. Most importantly, both Black and Potter very clearly knew that they were breaking the law in changing places to permit Potter to attend Hogwarts. Potter always knew her blood-status, and she actively chose to break the law. Blake Rosier did not.

Blake Rosier was raised as a pureblood, brought up as the Rosier Heir by two pureblood nobles. He received a pureblood noble's education and was raised among purebloods and nobles as if he were a true pureblood. There is no evidence that Blake Rosier was aware that he was not a pureblood before he went to Hogwarts. While it is reasonable to conclude that he must have learned something about his origins through his gift while at Hogwarts, it is not known to what extent he knew prior to his graduation. Unlike Black and Potter, it is very easy for Blake Rosier to argue that he did not know his blood status prior to the Black Trial, and it is likely the public will find him more sympathetic than either Black or Potter. Instead of a righteous prosecution, a trial of Blake Rosier is likely to be seen as persecution.

This is especially true now that Blake Rosier has been disowned. Blake Rosier has already lost his position in Society: as the Rosier Heir, as a full noble, and as a pureblood. He no longer has access to the vast resources of the Rosier Investment Trust, and it does not appear that he continues to be involved in the Wizarding world. He has a Muggle haircut, and wears Muggle clothes. He works in the Muggle world. He takes Muggle transportation. He is rarely seen within Wizarding Britain and has not met with any of his friends or acquaintances from Hogwarts since he was disowned. Although he appears to be developing a close connection to the Blacks, it would appear that all his previous connections have cast him off.

Blake Rosier is further unlikely to make any further connections within the Wizarding world. He does not come into contact with other witches and wizards through his everyday activities in the Muggle world. Without having attended an international school alongside other British-born halfbloods and Muggleborns, he is also unlikely to be able to integrate into their communities.

Any action against Blake Rosier, including a prosecution for blood identity theft or similar, is likely to paint the Ministry of Magic in a very poor light and will only create further sympathy for him. Therefore, while a continued warrant for surveillance may be defensible in law, I cannot recommend that any action be taken against Blake Rosier at this time.

**CONCLUSION**

For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the Ministry of Magic take no further action against Aldon Étienne Blake Rosier.

* * *

* * *

* * *

Penny stretched out her aching hand, wishing that she had her mother's computer and a printer. Or even a _typewriter –_ typewriters had been around for nearly a century, so why was it that she still needed to write her memoranda by hand?

She could probably spell a typewriter to work, if she focused on it, but there was no point. Everyone in the Ministry wrote by hand, as if it was the mid-eighteenth century. Some lawyers, better lawyers than her, dictated their memoranda, but Penny still preferred writing. She wasn't good at spitting out complete paragraphs and arguments; she thought through the act of writing, and she changed her mind on average four times through writing a memorandum. She often didn't know what she thought about something until she was done.

This one was easier than most. Penny felt sorry for Blake Rosier, when all was said and done. A person couldn't choose their blood-status; it just was, a result of who their parents were and the decisions their parents had made. Blake Rosier was a halfblood, and he had no choice in that, nor any ability to change that. His situation was entirely the result of the decisions of Lord and Lady Rosier, and when it had come out, they had thrown him out.

It was disgusting, and she had no doubt that Lord and Lady Rosier had paid off someone very high above her not to prosecute them. They had thrown out their own child, their own Heir, to protect their status in Wizarding Society, making _him_ pay for their decisions. Penny wished there was more she could do for him, aside from writing a very reasonable and correct memorandum of law advising against prosecuting the poor boy. Even if it would have likely been in her personal interests for Blake Rosier to be prosecuted, so that the laws could be struck.

The blue-tinged scar on her wrist itched, and she reached to scratch it absently. It was an old scar, dating back a decade, to before she had gone to Hogwarts. It had carried her through seven years, undetected, as it did a handful of others every year. Dumbledore guessed, but he never asked, and no one ever told. They were forbidden from it.

She reached for her wand and an extra roll of parchment, and with a moment of concentration, duplicated her memorandum. The first, her original, she would slide into the Minister's inbox before she left tonight.

The second, her copy, she would send north.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This was inspired by LadyPhoenix68 who deemed it very important that the Ministry do something about Aldon. Except that Aldon is really now a nobody, and as you'll see in later Vanguard (if it wasn't already obvious), it isn't as if having gone to Hogwarts is really helpful in his newfound community, either. He doesn't have the same lived experience as Muggleborns and halfbloods, so while the poor boy is a halfblood, he just doesn't belong. And, of course, he isn't a pureblood, even if he is culturally a pureblood noble, so he doesn't belong in his old crowd, either. He's just going to be very lonely instead.
> 
> Thanks to mercury and Anand for the beta, and sorry to bore you with the ultra-boring law! Comments and reviews appreciated, thanks - it is rare that I use lawyer powers for fic writing, and there is some part of me that will always look at this and go "ugh, why did I do that for fun, no one reads law for fun."


End file.
